4 months

The little big guy of the bunch is now 4 months. It's amazing how much he has grown and developed in just 4 short months. We are soaking in all of his baby love each and every day. A lot of this has to due with the fact that we are older wiser in comparison to the first two babies. We snuggle him for hours on end, laugh with him, sing and dance, and just sit in awe and stare at him as he learns about the world. There are days where I get nothing done because I am too busy holding and playing; and frankly, it doesn't bother me one bit. Because there is a baby in this house, and I'm busy :) 

The poem that says it best ends something like this...

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

and that darn poem makes me tear up each time I not only read it, but just think about it. 

At 4 months, Lincoln is: 

* learning how to grasp and put objects in his mouth. He can successfully do this often but gets frustrated if he misses. He prefers to grab stuffed toys in comparison to rattles/plastic; my sense is this is because they are much bigger (ie: easier to succeed).

* eats every 3 hours from 7am-10pm, taking about 5 ounces/time. Nurses like a champ, which has made pumping an easy task while I'm at work. Our freezers are beyond full of milk.  

* sleeps 10pm-7am each night, between us in a snuggle nest for safety. Catnaps throughout the day, usually awake no longer than 1-2 hours except at daycare, where he's too busy flirting with the staff to fall asleep. 

* loves to play under the Baby Einstein play mat, sit in the swing and have toys held in front of him. 

* likes to hear stories, his library is growing :) 

* doesn't much prefer tummy time, but can get his head up to 45 degrees. No rolling or movement and I'm very happy with that so far. Plenty of time for that. 

* wears size 6 mo clothes, and even some of them are snug/short. 

* wears size 2 diapers-Pampers and has a sensitive bottom like the other 2 did. Desitin Max is our best friend at every changing. 

* starting to dislike car rides unless he's well fed and sleeping. 

* found his voice last week and has been screaming loudly with glee ever since! 

* laughs like crazy when I take off his clothes (it must tickle his neck). He's the MOST ticklish on his chubby thighs, under his arms, and really all over his body!

* lets me slowly run my finger around his face as he stares at me while we snuggle. This goes on and on until I grow tired of the task or he falls asleep. So very sweet to watch his face twitch with a tickle and his eyes gently close. 

* loves his bath, will sit and chill a long time, or until he coughs or sneezes and ends up pooing in the tub and I have to quickly scoop him out :) 

* weighed in at....20 lbs today! Yes, that read TWENTY! Putting him in the 98th percentile. Height is 26.5", putting him in the 94th percentile. His squishy cheeks are the best and I'm reminded of that daily by anyone that we see. 

He is the best addition to our family and is loved so very much! 

Regan's 8th birthday party day

Regan gathered up 13 of her closest friends (and thankfully added her sister), and ventured to celebrate her birthday in this cold snap we've been having. To say that her friend's parents were THRILLED at the idea of a 2 hour gymnastics party, well, that's an understatement. This winter has been downright brutal. And every kid is itching with energy to run and jump and scream. 

And last weekend, these 14 girls had their chance! 

Our gym doesn't do parties, so she asked to have her party at another local gym. She later confessed that the whole reason she wanted to come here, is because of this aparatus, done especially with the birthday girl. Boy was she excited! (and now you can only imagine that Sid wants a turn). 

Click HERE for the video

Last year, I was brave enough to host her party at home. This year, with a new baby in tow and way too many germs being spread around, we were pleased as punch to let someone else take the reins of hosting. The staff at this place even told me to stop cleaning up at one point!, fine by me :) 

Ryan, Lincoln and I enjoyed watching all the girls have so much fun as they played, non-stop, for 90 minutes. Running around, yelling, flipping and jumping. They had so much fun. Best part, is there were NO tears!! How we managed to get away without any drama is beyond me, because let's just say, 8 year olds can produce a LOT of tears :) 

It was all smiles this year, including her cake!

Happy 8th birthday Regan! We love you to pieces!

Wheezing, ear infections and loads of antibiotics

Lincoln is starting early with doctor visits. I would have to look back, but I believe he wins the prize for earliest ear infection. 

Last week, as I held him, I noticed he was wheezing when he was breathing. And for a $10 co-pay, I opted to bring him into the doctor. I know enough to realize when a little one is struggling to breathe. 

She took one listen to his chest and agreed--wheezing. 

Immediately the doctor suggested an in-office neb treatment and an RSV test. 

Afterwards, she came back and said she had "good news and bad news". 

Good news: RSV was negative (whew!!, huge sigh of relief)

Bad news: RSV was negative (huh? why is this bad?)

There was no clear explanation for the wheezing. And so it was home-nebs for treatment. 

She took a look at the rest of him and noticed not one but a double ear infection! 

We had no indication he was battling this infection. He was happy, nursing great, sleeping fine and our all around smiley little boy. So in addition to home nebs, he's on a giant syringe full of antibiotics twice daily. And I say giant, because Sid too was battling an illness and had the SAME exact dose of antibiotic as Lincoln!! In fact, the pharmacist had to call back to the doctor and verify her prescription and then looked at me and said "it goes by weight. Clearly he's a big boy!"

Um, yea, 19 lbs 9 oz at just 3.5 months. 

Gosh darn, he sure makes that neb mask look cute :) 

He's doing great taking them, although I don't exactly believe they are working. He's 6 days into it and still wheezing the same.  

Snow fun

Although I for one am having no fun! I'm waving the white flag, surrendering to this cold, white snow and praying for warmer weather. 

Enough already. 

5 snow days for a metro school, this is unheard of! We are downright done with winter. 

But alas, we have had yet another snow storm and now onto another cold snap. Before it got real ugly out there, the girls played around the pool in those white drifts. 

Until Regan lost her boot in the snow and I was stuck inside giving Lincoln a neb treatment (more on that later) and Sidney wasn't strong enough to pull Regan's boot out of the snow. 

And so she sat and cried. 

And cried. 

And wailed until I came out to save her  (don't worry mom, she's fine!). 

Oh it'll make for some good laughs later

This morning, I looked into the back yard and saw the beautiful waves of snow, and wished they were waves of sand, created by the ocean...

The drifts are tall enough to be foot stools near the swing. 

And we have our own little mini avalanche occurring at the sides of the pool. 

Dear Spring, PLEASE HURRY!!!

"They"

Most days, Sidney is working hard at school and then comes home and we work her even harder. She's mastering her letters, sounds, writing her name "the kindergarten way" and figuring out numbers. This week, as she was practicing writing all of the letters on the white board, she pointed out each letter and whose name started with that letter (ie: N is for Natalie). She got to the letters R and S and said "hey mom, Regan and Sidney! They are right next to each other. "They" must have known we were sisters."

Yes dear. Centuries ago when the alphabet was created.

"They" must have known.

 

Regan's 8th birthday

Yesterday was Regan's special day. The big EIGHT! 

I happened to be the first person she saw in the morning and when I gave her a birthday hug and kiss she reminded me she wasn't 8 until 3pm. She's all into details, and knows that she was born at 3pm. But when she heard the word "present", she agreed to celebrate the whole day!

She was pretty excited for that purple lava lamp...she wasn't so excited that Lincoln bought her math flash cards :) I got the stink eye for that one. 

Since her birthday fell on a Saturday, we planned her family birthday party for the same day. She hasn't wanted a "themed" birthday party since she was 5 or so. Instead, she picks colors and then decides on a cake. This year it was the color turquoise and a smiley DQ cake. I scored a giant smiley face balloon too and really won her over :) Before the party though, she had to dash off to swim team practice where he really works her for 60 long minutes! 

Her party guests soon arrived and she had an awesome time playing with her fun cousins. Lincoln got the most attention though (sorry Regs), and was loved up by everyone. He seemed to enjoy himself with Paxton. 

And then cried a little so Harlow thought he would like to hold a dolly. 

My goodness are there a lot of candles on that cake!! She blew hard to get the sparklers out, and one kept relighting itself. We all know what that means.... :) 

Happy Birthday sweet Regan! I hope you had a fabulous day! 

Valentines

We shared Valentine's day with our 3 adorable Valentines.

Birthday eve

Our oldest is turning 8. 

Eight.

Holy smokes! Next thing I know and she'll be driving. 

Seriously, my sweet baby girl is wrapping up her "childhood". And I for one am not quite ready. 

Oh how I remember those sleepless nights, the baby who was born four weeks early and couldn't nurse, and who loved loved loved her swing. She was sweet and loveable right from the start. 

She was our busy toddler, getting into kitchen cupboards, toilet paper rolls and drinking mommy's coffee. She was the first of our babies to teach us about love and patience.

She was (and still is) a stellar traveler. Regan has been on 7 family vacations involving an airplane. From multiple trips to DC and more recent trips to California, she is easy going when it comes to all travel. Boy are we thankful for this!

She is inquisitive and has the most unbelievable critical thinking skills....and this sure tests my patience! Her most adorable thin curls have now muted to a soft thick wave. 

I think one of her favorite places to be is aboard Papa's boat and hanging out at the lake. She looks forward to this yearly vacation each and every year. We've been doing this since she was a baby when we had to pack up that beloved swing and drag it along. We travel more lightly now :)

Her life is getting busier and our family time already decreasing as she races off to dance classes, gymnastic practice, ice skating lessons and swim team. She keeps us on our toes and forces us to make the most of any minute of time we have together. 

Time is going so fast. It seems like just a short time ago, we were embarking on this parenting journey for the first time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVE REGAN! 

We cannot wait to celebrate you this weekend!

3 beautiful blessings

These kids of ours make our days brighter, here's a little glimpse to make yours bright too:

Sidney is our spit fire. She can make believe like nobody's business: her barbies have been on a 2 month RV tour somewhere behind the couch near the curtains and Mickey Mouse seems to be in a plural marriage with several Minnies perched on top of Sid's ironing board. 

We don't ask questions.

Just sit nearby and listen to her imagination, but don't let her know you're listening, or she'll close up shop.

And then there's the baby of the bunch, with the biggest brown eyes that I have ever seen. He's been on a role lately blowing out diaper after diaper with some lovely smelling presents for me :) He'll let me hold him for hours on end, falling asleep in my arms. I can run my finger gently around his face and watch him slowly drift to sleep. And then wake up talking to me like I'm the best person in the world. When he flashes that beautiful open mouth smile, his eyes even shine. He sleeps between us at night and neither one of us are ready to let that go; his sighs and snores are wonderful background noise as we fall to sleep.

Oh this soon-to-be 8 year old is growing into such a beautiful person. Regan is an amazing helper with Lincoln, and is all around very motherly. As for getting  older, we're blessed with eye rolls and responses like "whateves" on a regular basis....this part I'm learning to respond to. She could write a book on how to tease and pick on a little sister. But we love her all the same. She is our guinea pig, being the first child, and so we are all learning.

At night I lay my head down and thank God for these 3 beautiful blessings.

Tummy time fun

I think he might be the first of our babies to (somewhat) enjoy tummy time and do more than smash his face into the floor. 

Kindergarten registration

Sidney took part in kindergarten registration last week. I can't believe our baby girl will be off to school next fall. Boy is she ready. For 3 years now she has watched her big sis walk into school, come home with stories of learning and fun, and now it's her turn. She simply cannot wait! So on her big night, she grabbed her name tag and fearlessly walked into the classroom filled with other little children, all eager to start. I had to pry her away from the fun at the end of the night, and now have to field the daily question "when can I start kindergarten?"

We love you sweet Sidney but please don't grow up so fast!